Happily Ever After
by Rae325
Summary: Regina and Emma take the journey of motherhood again – this time together.
1. Chapter 1

_There are so many wonderful baby stories floating around the fandom these days, and I simply couldn't stop myself from partaking in writing some Mills-Swan family fluff. While this is not actually a baby fic, it is a story about Regina and Emma taking the journey of motherhood again – this time together. __This is a series of vignettes from the family's life together. It's set in a world where Emma and Regina are happily married, and really there is an obscene amount of over-the-top fluff. For those of you reading _Broken_, sorry for the delay, and I will try to update soon!_

* * *

"Did you ever want to be pregnant?" Emma asks one night when Regina is lying with her head on Emma's chest; their naked legs intertwined.

"Are you offering to be my baby daddy?"

"Is that a thing?" Emma asks a little panicked. "Like with magic, can that really work?"

Regina chuckles at the fear in Emma's voice. "Relax Emma. I was only joking."

They let the silence settle. Emma won't push if Regina wants to avoid the question.

"I never really had the opportunity," the brunette says softly a few minutes later, her hand unconsciously stroking the faint stretch marks on Emma's abdomen.

"Daniel and I talked about having a big family," Regina says with the melancholy that still hangs over her memories of her first love. Emma asks about him sometimes – about the good times – and it's become easier to remember. But still there is the fog of sorrow over all the happiness those days held for Regina.

"Leopold wanted a male heir, of course. But I couldn't bear the thought of something of him growing inside me." The hatred and disgust still seethes, and Regina does nothing to hide it now.

"I know," Emma whispers as she runs her fingers through the thick, dark hair she loves to play with. She hadn't meant to bring up memories; she had just been curious.

"I cast a spell so that I wouldn't become pregnant - the witches' version of birth control."

Emma places a kiss to Regina's forehead.

"I wasn't able to love anyone for a very long time. Not until Henry."

Emma lifts Regina's chin so that she can kiss her wife properly. She's grateful everyday that Regina had loved their son from the time he was a baby.

"I held him, and I had the child that I'd always dreamed of."

* * *

Emma rests her head on Regina's shoulder. She's staring at Henry's baby album for the millionth time.

The blonde runs her fingers almost reverently over a picture of Regina holding a blue bundle in her arms. It's winter, and Henry is wrapped up so warmly that Emma can only make out the tiniest bit of skin through the layers of protection the new mother has enveloped her baby in.

Tears fall onto the picture, and Emma wipes them away quickly, afraid of ruining the beautiful photograph.

They promised each other long ago not to let themselves get lost in the past. There are too many regrets for both of them. But with Henry's birthday days away, Emma is dragged down by the sadness of the time she lost with a son she now loves so dearly.

Regina's thumb swipes at Emma's cheek, wiping away the moisture. There's such comfort in that touch. Such love. Such gratefulness for their precious son. Things that no one else would detect in such a simple gesture. Things that sustain Emma while she grieves.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Henry. Happy birthday to you."

Henry wakes up to his mothers singing. Regina nudges him over so she can sit on the edge of the bed and hold the plate of pancakes covered in frosting in front of him. There are fourteen candles – one for each year and one for good luck, just like always.

Henry thinks for a minute, because there isn't much that he needs to wish for. He's happy. His mothers are both happy. He doesn't need much else really. He wishes for this to be his family's happily ever after and blows out the candles.

Regina puts the plate down on the bedside table, and Henry knows what comes next. "Mom!" he yells as she leans over, "I'm too old for birthday kisses." But the protest is perfunctory, and Henry smiles as Regina places thirteen birthday kisses to the crown of her son's head.

Emma hangs back, letting mother and son have their birthday morning tradition, until Henry yells: "Ma, come over here and help us eat the pancakes."

* * *

"Sheriff Swan," Dr. Whale calls Emma over to where he stands outside an exam room.

"What's going on?"

"Ten year old girl came in with a black eye and a broken arm. When we did x-rays and found several healed fractures."

Emma swallows hard. The memory of a social worker being called to her own bedside rises in her mind. She pushes it away. Emma can't be thinking of these memories if she's going to do her job.

The sheriff knocks on the hospital room door. "Hi." She smiles at the little girl with long dark curls lying in the bed. "My name is Emma, and I'm a police officer. Can I talk to you?" The girl nods, and Emma sits down. "What's your name?"

"Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam," the child says in a voice so tiny that Emma can barely make it out.

"It's very nice to meet you Sam. Is it ok for me to ask you a few questions about how you got hurt?"

Sam looks down, pulls at the corner of the hospital sheet. "It was an accident."

"You can tell me the truth. I promise you Sam: I'm not going to let anyone hurt you anymore."

* * *

"Please Regina. I can't let her go into foster care. Her life has been so terrible, and all that's waiting for her in the system is being sent from home to home until she ages out."

There are tears in Emma's eyes, and Regina would do anything to make it better. But this is a huge commitment. Things are finally good with Henry again, and she can't ruin that. He is her first priority.

"Emma, we can't adopt a kid without talking to Henry."

"Can we just take her for a few nights and see?"

"She's not a puppy. We're not going to take her and then toss her away when we decide we don't want her." As soon as the words are out of Regina's mouth she realizes: that is what Emma had been through; that is all she knows.

Regina wraps her arms around Emma, but the blonde is stiff and refuses the comfort of being held. "I'm sorry," Regina whispers, not letting go of her wife. "I love you." Regina has come to understand the moments when Emma most needs to be reminded of how very loved and wanted she is now. "I love you," Regina repeats, and she finally feels the blonde give in to the embrace.

"I know this seems crazy, Regina, but there is something special about this girl. I need to help her."

Regina never thought she would have a second child. She had been a single mother for a long time, and raising one kid while working full time had been enough. And then things had gotten bad with Henry, and she had needed to spend all her time proving to her son that she truly loved him. She thinks finally that he believes her, and that things have gone back to how they used to be when her son loved her unconditionally, when he knew she loved him in the same way. So, maybe he would be ok with this. Maybe they would be ok if their little family got larger.

"Do you want a second child, Emma?" Regina asks. They need to want this little girl if they're going to take her in. This can't be about guilt and obligation and making up for their own screwed up childhoods. Regina knows the commitment it takes to be a mother, and they both need to be ready to make it.

"I don't know," Emma says with a shrug. "I didn't think I wanted the first one, but I love him more than anything in the world."

Regina smiles, and she's reminded of the fact that despite all the time she spent getting ready for Henry, nothing could prepare her with the love she felt the moment he was placed in her arms.

"I just can't let her go into the system, Regina."

* * *

It takes three days for the nightmares to start – years for them to finally fade to occasional disturbances.

"Sam, sweetheart, wake up," Regina says gently touching the little girl's back. She's thrashing violently, and Regina's heart breaks to think of what the child is seeing in her dreams. "Samantha."

The little girl sits up, her eyes darting around the room frantically.

"It's ok. You're ok," Regina soothes.

Sam's eyes focus on Regina, who offers a comforting smile. "It's ok. You're safe." Regina's heart breaks at the look on this child's face. No one should feel pain like this. Regina reaches out slowly, giving Sam the chance to shift away. But the little girl leans forward into Regina's arms. "I've got you, and I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again."

Regina had been so scared that having a daughter would make it easy to recapitulate the awful relationship that she had with Cora. Regina had feared that she would need to actively resist falling into the manipulative, unhealthy patterns that had been modeled for her as a child. But Regina holds Sam and wonders more than ever how a mother could ever abuse a child like Cora had, like Sam's mother had.

It had been so easy for Regina to love this child. She didn't know if it would be the same to fall in love with a ten year old as it had been to fall in love with a baby. But Regina is hugging Samantha tightly, and all she can think is that she wants to make the pain go away, wants to take it on herself – anything just to help Sam.

Emma watches from the hallway, not wanting to ruin the moment since this is the first time Sam has let herself be hugged like this.

"It's ok," Regina repeats over and over until the words become a soothing chant.

Sam curls herself up on Regina's lap. "Gina?"

Regina's always hated that nickname, but hearing it from Samantha makes her smile.

"Yeah?"

"Am I really going to stay with you and Emma?"

"Forever," Regina promises.

Samantha snuggles against Regina's neck, and the former queen begins to hum a lullaby she remembers from when she was young. It was a tune her father sang to her when she was upset – usually after Cora had been particularly cruel – and it had always calmed Regina.

Emma's focus is pulled from her wife and daughter when Henry walks up beside her. "Mom used to sing to me like that when I was a baby."

"Sam never got to have that when she was little. She's making up for lost time," Emma says, running her fingers through her son's hair.

They're all making up for lost time it seems.

* * *

Emma may have been the one to suggest adopting Samantha, but it's Regina to whom being the girl's mother comes naturally. The brunette soothes the bad dreams away – she knows what to say and do when the little girl cries out in the middle of the night.

Emma stands at the doorway watching as Regina rocks Sam back to sleep. The former queen notices her wife watching and motions for her to join them.

Regina's arms are surrounding Sam, offering safety and warmth and protection. Emma doesn't know how to do this. She doesn't know how to love a child in this way, how to take care of a kid who needs to be held and soothed like a baby, who needs to be taught what love is.

"Lets scoot over so Emma can join us," Regina says, moving over with Sam still in her arms.

Emma lies down tentatively on the bed. Regina reaches out, wrapping an arm around her wife and pulling her closer. Emma snuggles in, rubs Samantha's back. "Hi Emma."

"Hi sweetie," Emma says. And then she lets herself trust her instincts. "It's ok, Sam. It was just a bad dream, and Regina and I are going to take care of you. I promise."

Regina sees it – the moment Emma lets herself become Samantha's mother. It's beautiful to watch, and the brunette falls more in love with her wife than she ever thought possible.

* * *

"You need new pajamas, kid," Emma tells Samantha. "You're getting too tall for your old ones."

"That's ok. You don't need to get me anything."

Emma recognizes the fear, the desire not to be a burden – being scared that if you do anything wrong, if you are too much of an inconvenience, then your new family will give you back.

"But I want to. Now tell me, what kind of pajamas do you want."

"Really, I can pick?"

"Of course you can," Emma says, wrapping her arm around Sam's shoulder.

"Can I get a pair of with fairy princesses on them?"

Emma laughs. "Sure thing. As long as I can be there when Regina sees them for the first time."

* * *

Emma is already at the sheriff's station so it's just Regina and the kids this morning. Well, just Regina and Sam really. Henry's bus is in five minutes, which means that the teenager will be rushing down the stairs anytime now to grab a pop-tart – a taste preference for which Emma is entirely to blame – and his lunch before running out the door.

"Hi Henry," Sam says as he makes his appearance right on cue.

"Hey sis," he says affectionately. He's a good big brother, and Regina couldn't be prouder. "Hi Mom."

"Have a good day at school," Regina says, handing Henry his lunch.

"Thanks. See you guys later." And then he's off to run for his bus.

"Now that the hurricane is out of the house," Regina says to Sam, whose bus to elementary school isn't for another hour, "what should we make for breakfast?"

"Can you make me scrambled eggs?" Sam asks. She's asking for what she wants now, and that makes Regina and Emma happy, makes them feel like Sam is settling in, trusting that they'll always be there.

Regina is mixing milk into the eggs when Sam asks: "Gina?" The former queen looks up from the bowl. "Would it be ok if I called you _Mom _like Henry does?"

Tears flood Regina's eyes and she thinks that her heart just might burst from joy. "I would be honored. I am after all your mom – just like I'm Henry's."

Sam runs over to Regina to give her a hug, and Regina bends down to kiss her daughter's head. "I love you Samantha."

"I love you too _Mom_."

Sam pulls away and smiles at Regina. It's a real smile, and the former queen is happy to see this expression more and more. She pulls Sam against her side, not ready to let the little girl go.

"Do you think Emma would mind if I called her _Ma_?"

"I know she will be just as happy as I am right now."

* * *

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Sam. Happy birthday to you."

Emma's holding frosted pancakes with twelve lit candles.

Henry's jumping on the bed in an effort to wake his sister. "Make a wish," he says when Sam pops her head out from under the covers.

Sam closes her eyes and blows out the candles. And then she's surrounded by her Mom, her Ma, and her brother giving her birthday kisses.


	2. Chapter 2

_So, I decided to write another chapter. I suspect that I will keep doing this (likely whenever I see a scene of Regina and Cora and feel like writing about family and pathos and healing). If you have a story you want me to write in this universe, feel free to give me a prompt._

* * *

Regina quickly discovers that having two children in a house does not double the noise level – it increases it exponentially.

Despite the headache throbbing behind her eyes after a long day of meetings and city politics, Regina can't help but smile at the shrieks of laughter she hears upon opening her front door.

Regina drops her briefcase by the door and hangs up her coat before going in search of her kids. Henry and Emma had joined forces to convince Regina that it's just fine for a 13 (_almost 14_ as Henry likes to put it) year old can stay home alone and babysit his sister. Regina finds Henry and Sam in the living room tossing a nerf football around.

"How many times have I told you two not to play ball in the house?" Regina asks, as Sam lets loose a particularly wild throw. Henry runs to catch the ball but to no avail. Any further reprimand is cut off by the sound of shattering glass as the ball collides with a vase and sends the fragile object tumbling to the floor.

Regina cringes: her head pounding harder from the noise. Henry looks at Regina and offers a sheepish, "Sorry Mom. I'll clean it up." And then he notices Sam: her whole body is rigid and she looks terrified. He only knows a little of what his sister's life was like before she came to live with his family, but he understands enough to know that she is waiting to be hit.

Regina walks over to her daughter, and Sam flinches as the former queen bends down to talk to her. "It's ok, Sam."

"I'm sorry," the little girl whimpers as a tear falls down her face.

"Shh. It's ok. I'm not angry." Henry almost laughs, because if he had been the one to break the vase, the words _I'm not angry_ would be just about the last thing to come out of his mother's mouth. "I'm not going to hurt you Sam. No matter what, I'm not going to hurt you."

Sam nods, but her body language is still so closed off. She's shrinking away from Regina, trembling in fear. "It's ok, sweetie. Nothing to be upset about." Sam's lips quiver and she tries to hold back more tears from coming. "Can I give you a hug?" The fear that flashes across the child's face makes Regina wonder how often Sam's mother had offered her the promise of affection only to lash out at her daughter.

Sam's face relaxes as rational thoughts take over and she thinks about the fact that Regina has never hurt her. She walks forward into her mom's arms. Regina wraps her arms around Sam and rubs the girl's back softly. "You're safe sweetheart. It's ok. I might get upset or yell, but I will never, ever hurt you. And I will never stop loving you. You hear me?" Regina asks before placing a soft kiss to the side of Sam's head.

Henry feels a little like an intruder, but he can't stop watching his mom and sister. He rarely thinks about how lucky he's been in life. Anytime he's a brat, anytime he gets snippy with Regina, Emma reminds him of how lucky he is. But he usually just shrugs it off – his mom hasn't been perfect, that's for sure.

But he gets it a little more now. He gets just how bad it can be. Emma has alluded to the fact that both she and Regina had childhoods that were less than ideal, but Henry hasn't thought too much about that until right now as he watches his sister trembling in fear of being hit.

"Do you want to come sit on the couch with me?" Regina asks, her legs aching from crouching.

"But the glass. I can clean it up. It's my fault."

"That's not important right now. Come on," Regina says, wrapping her arm around Sam's shoulder and leading her to the couch. Regina snuggles her daughter into her side, like she's done for almost a year now. Most days she feels like Sam has always been hers, but then there are the awful reminders. She hold Samantha for a while just to let her calm down before asking, "Do you want to talk?" Sam struggles with this just like Regina and Emma do.

When Sam says nothing, Regina just gives her daughter a tighter hug. It's one of Emma's strategies with Regina when the former queen doesn't feel like talking. And whether Regina ends up giving in and sharing her feelings or not, she always feels loved and accepted in the silence.

"Mom?" Sam asks tentatively some time later.

"Yeah?"

"I know that what Mary did was really, really bad." It feels strange to Sam to call the woman who gave birth to her by her given name. But Regina and Emma are her mothers now, and they are so different from the woman she grew up with. "But sometimes I miss her." Sam feels guilty saying this, because Regina is her mom now and Sam doesn't want her mom to feel like Sam doesn't want her.

Regina isn't expecting this, and it hits too close to home. She misses Cora all the time. Even after all the awful things she did to Regina as a child and in Storybrooke before she had finally been defeated, Regina loves Cora. She still wishes for her mother's affection, wishes that Cora were alive to wrap her arms around Regina. "It's ok to miss her. And it's ok to love her too."

Sam sits up and looks at Regina. The girl looks conflicted and confused. Regina brushes a curl out of her daughter's face. "I feel the same way about my mother." Regina has talked about Cora a little so that Sam would know that other people had gone through the same thing and come out the other side ok (though Regina doubts she's a great role model on that front). "It's ok as long as you remember that what Mary did to you was wrong. It wasn't because of you. It was because she has a lot of problems, and she took them out on you. It wasn't your fault, and she should never have treated you how she did." Saying this to her child over and over has helped Regina more than anything else to come to terms with what she'd experienced as a child.

When Cora had come to Storybrooke it had been so easy for Regina to accept her mother's affection. She had been so starved for it her whole life and so well trained to believe that she simply wasn't deserving. No matter how many times Emma told Regina that the affection lavished on her in the time Cora had been in Storybrooke did not make up for the awful things done to Regina as a child, Regina never quite accepted that none of the fault for Cora's past wrongs laid with her.

But telling that to Sam has helped Regina to finally begin to accept that she had deserved more herself, that she wasn't inadequate, and that the kind of love her mother had offered had been hurtful and so very far from what a mother's love should be.

"I know Mommy," Samantha says with a smile. She seems to be reassured that what she's feels is normal.

"Good," Regina says. "I don't want you to ever forget that you are special and amazing." Sam giggles. It's probably one of Regina's favorite sounds in the whole world. "I love you sweetheart."

"I love you too," Sam says, leaning back against Regina.

"You are a very brave girl, do you know that?" Sam shakes her head. "Well you are."

Regina looks down to see her daughter smiling. "Can we watch a movie until Ma gets home?"

"Sure," Regina says, giving up her plans of having an elaborate meal prepared by the time her wife arrives. "Should we invite Henry to join us?"

"Henry!" Samantha screams at the top of her lungs. Regina just shakes her head with a small smile. The days of a quiet house are most definitely a thing of the past.

"Yeah, sis?" Henry asks. He has a vacuum in hand and looks all ready to clean up the mess from earlier.

"Come watch a movie with us."

"I'll join you after I clean," he tells his sister.

"It's ok," Regina says with a smile. "I'll do it later. Come sit with us."

Henry doesn't need to be told twice. He jumps on the couch next to his mom. He has the urge to be close to her now, still feeling grateful for all the things that he took for granted growing up.

Regina wraps her arm around Henry and gives him an affectionate squeeze. "If I ever find you playing ball in the house again, you can say goodbye to staying home alone."

"Ok, Mom," he says with in long drawn out whine.

"Good," Regina tells him. "Now what are we watching?"


	3. Chapter 3

Emma knows exactly where she'll find her wife when she arrives home after a shift that ran far too long. Emma kicks her shoes off in the living room, knowing full well that she's going to be yelled at about it in the morning, but she is far too tired to care.

"Hey babe," Emma says as she collapses on the bed. Regina reaches over and presses a gentle kiss to Emma's lips, before burying her nose back in her book.

"That's it?" Emma asks with mock outrage. "You haven't seen me all day."

"Let me finish this chapter, and then I'm all yours."

Emma leans against Regina, determined to be as annoying as possible until Regina gets her priorities straight and pays attention to her wife. "How many pages do you have left?" Emma asks leaning her chin on Regina's shoulder.

"Mmm….maybe ten."

"I read the cliffsnotes when I was in high school. Want me to tell you how it ends?"

"No!" Regina turns to Emma, "Now, let me finish this chapter, and I promise to make it worth your while."

"Fine," Emma says with a satisfied little smile. "I don't understand how you haven't read _Pride and Prejudice_," Emma adds, and Regina rolls her eyes. It's hard to read while her wife chatters on. "I think I had three teachers assign it in high school. Allegedly it's a classic romance - if you like that sort of thing." Emma scrunches up her face, making it clear that she doesn't.

"You might recall that I didn't go to school in this world," Regina says, holding her place with her finger and resting the book on her lap. "And I wasn't the biggest fan of love stories for a while," she adds looking at Emma a little shyly.

A huge smile spreads across Emma's face, and Regina remembers that there's no need to be embarrassed about how much loving Emma has changed everything for her. "Are you saying that I bring out the romantic in you?" Emma asks teasingly. She reaches over and gives Regina a kiss. When the former queen's fingers wind themselves into Emma's hair, the sheriff knows that she's won. Regina lets Emma take the book from her hands and toss it on the ground. There's a mumbled protest (maybe something about losing her place) that Emma swallows in her greedy attack on her wife's lips.

Regina flips Emma over so that she can pay proper attention to every inch of Emma's skin. Regina insists on taking her time, savoring the taste and feel of Emma's body, the sound of her gasps and moans. The brunette punctuated her kisses and licks with soft whispered words: _I love you; you're beautiful; mine._

Emma decides that maybe it isn't such a bad thing for Regina to read Jane Austin after all.

* * *

"Em," Regina says nudging her wife who is sleeping with her head and half her body on top of Regina.

Emma mumbles and snuggles further into the brunette's chest.

"Emma, I think we should put some clothes on. It's storming out, and I'm sure Sam will be in here soon." Regina extricates herself from Emma and reaches over to pick her pajamas up off the floor.

Emma shivers at the loss of Regina's touch. The night is cold, and she can hear the rain pounding against the windows. She quickly gets up and retrieves a t-shirt and flannel pants from her dresser, shrugging the clothes on quickly and climbing back under the covers with Regina.

Emma hates thunderstorms, and she feels the chill settle into her bones. She presses her body into Regina's and the former queen obviously senses Emma's distress. Regina holds Emma tightly in arms that help chase away the blonde's demons; arms that promise to never let go.

It's only a few minutes before the knock comes. Regina jumps out of bed to open the door. Sam is clutching her stuffed rabbit, her bottom lip trembling as she tries to hold back tears.

"Hi sweetie."

"The thunder woke me up. Can I come sleep in here with you and Ma?"

"Sure," Regina says, putting her hand on Sam's back and guiding her to the bed. Sam wastes no time jumping in and snuggling up against Emma, who wraps her arms around her little girl, soaking in the warmth.

Regina pulls the covers over the three of them. "It's ok," she says, rubbing her hand up and down her daughter's arm. "It's just a storm. Nothing to be afraid of." Sam looks like she's about to speak, but then closes her mouth and nods. "What is it?" Regina prompts gently.

Sam chews on her lip for a moment before answering. "Storms make me think of Mary."

Regina's stomach drops. She tries to prepare herself for what Sam's going to say. "Why's that honey?"

"If I was bad she'd lock me outside."

Emma's eyes go wide. Her throat feels tight.

Emma collects herself the best she can and tells her daughter, "You're safe now, Sam. Safe and dry and warm." Sam's body shivers inadvertently, and Emma hugs her tighter. "I had a foster mom who did the same thing to me, you know."

"Really?"

"Yea. I still kind of hate the rain."

"Do you get scared?" Sam asks.

"Not really. But I always feel a little cold and sad, and I need to remind myself that I'm safe and that I have people in my life who love me."

Regina looks at Emma with tears in her eyes. It kills Regina to think of her wife in that kind of pain. She moves closer to Emma and Sam, snaking an arm under Emma's neck and kissing the side of her face.

Sam looks at Emma and tells her, "I love you very much."

"I love you too, and Mom loves you," Emma says with a glance at Regina, who smiles at her wife and rubs their daughter's back softly. "And Henry loves you," Emma continues. "You've got a lot of people who love you, kid. And a lot of people who would do anything to keep you safe."

Sam grins. "I know. We're lucky, huh?"

Emma can't get words out around the lump in her throat. She is _so_ lucky. For years she had wrapped her arms around herself during storms, turning the television on just to hear other voices and pretend she wasn't alone. Now she has her wife's body to keep her warm and a whole family to love her. She kisses Sam's head and offers a watery smile.

Regina gives them both a squeeze. "I love you, my girls. Close your eyes. I'll keep you safe."

Sam does as she's told and closes her eyes. Before long she's sleeping peacefully, safe and warm between her mothers.


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter is a series of scenes from Emma's birthday, including a family picnic, as requested by fandommaniac. Thanks for reading; hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Emma wakes up to the sun shining in her eyes. It has a nasty habit of doing that around 8 a.m. this time of year, which Emma is certain is too early to be awake on a weekend. She groans, pulls the blanket over her head, and rolls over. Her head bumps into Regina's thigh, and Emma once again is unsure how her wife is always awake hours before Emma, perfectly chipper about waking up at the crack of dawn.

Emma nuzzles against her wife's thigh, earning her a throaty laugh from Regina. "Happy birthday, my dear," Regina says, putting her book on the bedside table, and resting her hand on the lump that she assumes is her wife's back underneath the covers.

"Too early," Emma insists with a groan.

"It's past 7:30," Regina says, as though this should make Emma suddenly appalled at how late she's slept.

"It's my birthday. I can sleep as late as I want."

Regina ducks under the covers, and Emma moves to lay her head on her wife's chest. Four years ago Emma had made a wish to not be alone on her birthday. And then, almost as if someone had actually heard her, Henry had come and brought her to this life.

Emma stretches and rolls onto her stomach so that she is sprawled on top of Regina, chin pressed into the brunette's stomach. "C'mere birthday girl," Regina says, pulling Emma into a kiss.

"This my present?" Emma mumbles against Regina's mouth.

"You can unwrap me anytime you want," Regina says with a cheesy smile. _This,_ Emma thinks,_ this playfully side of her wife that no one else gets to see_, is the only gift Emma needs. Emma kisses Regina again, sucking at the brunette's bottom lip gently.

"Can I unwrap you after I take a nap?" Emma asks, her body now flat on top of Regina; head resting in the crook of her wife's neck.

Regina wraps her arms tightly around Emma's body and presses a series of soft kisses to blonde locks. "I love you," she whispers reverently.

The tone of Regina's voice still brings tears to Emma's eyes even after almost three years together. Regina loves Emma more than the blonde thought anyone would or could ever love her. "Love you too. I'm only going to sleep for a few minutes, promise."

Regina laughs. She's heard that before. "Ok dear."

Emma nuzzles her nose against Regina's neck like a puppy settling herself into her favorite blanket. The motion earns her another beautiful, throaty laugh at the tickling sensation. "Wake me in a half hour," Emma says mid-yawn before closing her eyes and dozing off again.

* * *

Emma and Regina are both thoroughly unwrapped and satisfied by the time they hear loud footsteps and conspiratory whispering in the hallway. "I better go help before they destroy the kitchen," Regina says without making any effort to move. Prying herself away from the feeling of Emma's body against hers is no easy task.

"Chocolate chip with chocolate icing," Emma reminds Regina. "You better make sure they aren't trying to make some stupid healthy fruity pancakes."

"Your wish is my command, _princess_," Regina teases, earning her a scowl from the blonde. Regina kisses that damn scowl off her wife's face before climbing out from under the comforter. "And may I say that pancakes, even with blueberries, are not exactly a health food."

Emma rolls her eyes, propping herself up in bed so she can watch Regina as she walks across the room to retrieve her pajamas. "Just wait until your metabolism realizes that you're well into your thirties now," Regina continues as she shrugs on her pajama top.

"Well into my thirties?! I'm 32, Regina. And I am not the one who's been in her thirties for over three decades. Now _that_ is well into your thirties."

"Very clever, my dear."

"It was, wasn't it?" Emma says.

Fully dressed, Regina shakes her head at her wife. "Do I need to humor you on your birthday?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, it was." They share a sweet smile. How seamlessly their antagonism had transformed into loving banter. Emma never imagined that she could be this comfortable with another person. She had always been alone, and she had never believed that she would be able to be so free with anyone. But trust had come to them – maybe not easily at first, but they'd gotten there – and Regina makes Emma feel so loved and cherished. It's more than Emma could have imagined when she had made that birthday wish.

"Go bring me pancakes!" Emma demands as Regina walks towards the door.

Regina follows the sound of laughter down the stairs, fairly certain that she will be cleaning flour out of the crevices in her kitchen for weeks to come. But she is pleasantly surprised that Henry seems to have things well under control. "Good morning my chefs."

"Hi Mom," Henry says, not turning around from where he is focusing hard on pouring milk into a measuring cup.

Sam jumps down from her seat on the kitchen counter and runs to hug her mom. "Morning sweetheart," Regina says, kissing her daughter's head. She keeps an arm wrapped around her little girl as they walk over to where Henry is hard at work.

Regina places a kiss to her son's head, thankful that he lets her show her love for him once again. "Looks like you have everything under control here."

"Of course. You've been teaching me how to cook for years. Who do you think I am: Ma?"

Regina smiles. Emma is an unholy terror in the kitchen. Regina had insisted that her wife cook for her only once. It was an experience that led to blackened pizza and smoke alarms being set off. Emma is now in charge of setting the table. "Ma wanted me to make sure that you're aware that she wants chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate frosting."

"Of course. All she ever wants is chocolate."

* * *

"Have I ever mentioned how amazing your ass looks in jeans?"

Regina smiles and tries not to look too pleased at the compliment.

"Once or twice. And I picked up on the hint when you wouldn't stop buying me jeans for every occasion."

"I can't help it if you look amazing in them." And yes, it's the truth. Emma cannot resist her wife in jeans, but the repeated presents of casual wear had been a joint effort by Emma and Henry to loosen Regina up a bit.

Emma reaches around to put her hands in Regina's back pockets, pulling the brunette against her body. "Thanks for doing this," Emma says seriously.

"Of course. It's your birthday," Regina says settling her hands on the soft skin of Emma's bare back.

"Yeah, but I know that an afternoon with my family and the seven dwarves isn't exactly your idea of fun."

"Its your birthday. Your mother and I can get along once a year."

Emma kisses Regina. The former queen largely downplays her disdain for her in-laws, but Emma knows it's there. And she appreciates her wife's attempt to make peace for Emma's sake. "I'll make sure to properly reward you for your troubles later."

* * *

Emma might be a mother of two, but she still has no idea what to do with babies. And while her baby sister is cute – for a baby at least – Emma is none too thrilled when David shoves little Hope into her arms.

"She took her first steps yesterday," David tells Emma proudly. Emma smiles and tries not to let on her insecurity that her parents are bound to love the child they're raising more than the one who came into their lives as a 28 year old ex-con with trust issues.

"Can I hold her?" Sam asks, and Emma is happy to pass the baby off. Every time she holds Hope, Emma swears she is going to break the child somehow. Sam, on the other hand, seems to be a natural with kids, and Hope is instantly babbling happily in Sam's arms. "It's weird that she's my aunt, but I'm 11 years older than her."

David's face immediately turns into a frown, as he once again tries to figure out the complicated relationships in his family. Emma looks at her father and laughs. "I told you, kid. You can't talk about our crazy family tree in front of your grandfather. It makes his head hurt."

* * *

Despite doing their best to ignore each other all afternoon, Regina and Snow find themselves standing together after lunch with only baby Hope to help break the tension.

"She took her first steps yesterday," Snow tells Regina, for lack of anything else to say.

"You did, did you?" Regina coos at Hope

"Do you want to see pictures?" Snow asks, already reaching for the phone in her pocket. She holds the photos out so that Regina can see.

"Congratulations." Regina says. She looks up, sees Emma in the distance chatting with one of the dwarves (Sneezy maybe; he looks a bit allergic). Regina feels guilty all the time that she ruined Emma's childhood, but revealing her humanity and regret to Snow has never been an easy task. "I'm sorry I took this from you with Emma." The words burn at Regina's throat, make her feel vulnerable and exposed in front of the person she least wants to see that side of her.

The apology feels so inadequate to both of them. But there's nothing that will ever be sufficient to make up for the past. Snow wants to hate Regina – she has always wanted that – but her feelings for her former stepmother are too complex for Snow to fully deal with. "You gave her true love," Snow tells Regina. "I can try to forgive everything else." She's not there yet – forgiveness – but she wants to get there, for everyone's sake.

* * *

"One more cookie, and you are going to throw up," Regina warns, as Henry shoves a sixth chocolate chunk cookie into his mouth.

"That was once, and I was five."

"Sorry sweetheart. I suppose it's just memorable since I spent the evening holding your head over the toilet."

Henry rolls his eyes. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Not as long as you keep eating cookies like you're afraid I'll never bake them again."

"I'm not a baby anymore, Mom. I 'm going to be in high school next year, " Henry reminds Regina. He's pretty sure high schoolers can decide how many cookies to eat.

"You're always going to be my baby," she teases. But the truth of the statement sits between them.

"I know," Henry tells his mom with a smile. He's finally realizing how special his relationship with his mom is. She remembers him as a baby, as her little boy who she watched say his first words and take his first steps. She took care of him before he was old enough to take care of himself, to feed himself, to protect himself. And she still looks at him as the little boy she needs to protect and love as if he were the only thing in the world that mattered.

Emma loves him. Henry knows that. She is totally the cool mom; they sword fight and play video games. And he loves her. But Henry has realized now that their lives have calmed down and now that he's a little older and he's started to really think about these things, that Regina is and always will be _his mommy_. She's loved him since he was a baby, since the day she met him and he became her whole world. She loves him like an overprotective, adoring mother, who sees her baby as perfect. And for the first time in his life Henry is starting to appreciate how special what he and Regina have is.

Henry leans towards Regina – still too cool to initiate a hug with his mom is a public place. But she takes the cue and wraps her arm around his shoulders and pulls Henry against her side.

* * *

Emma walks over to her wife, who is sitting on a picnic blanket sipping a glass of ice tea. "Did you get tired of the game?" Regina asks putting her sunglasses on the top of her head and looking at Emma as she drops to the blanket.

"It's hard to keep up with wolf speed. Ruby was kicking my ass." While it may be true that Ruby's werewolf senses make her hard to beat at soccer, Emma mostly had wanted to spend some time with her wife.

Emma moves back to sit between Regina's legs. The brunette wraps her arms around her wife, who leans back against Regina's chest.

Emma closes her eyes and lets out a little moan at the comfortable, content feeling of being in her wife's arms. "Are you having a good birthday?"

"Yeah, the picnic was a good idea. I'm looking forward to a night with just you and the kids though." Emma loves her parents, but it's still stressful sometimes. And it still takes work. Being with Regina and Henry and Sam just feels right. Shockingly, Emma has a home where she can truly let her guard down.

"They love you so much, Em," Regina says, knowing how unsure Emma has been since Snow told her she was pregnant.

Emma doesn't say anything, because there really is nothing to say here. They've talked about this before. Regina knows Emma's fears, and she knows there is nothing she can do to take those worries away. Emma knows Regina's guilt, and Regina knows that her wife doesn't blame her for her awful childhood.

Emma appreciates her wife's reassurances, and Regina knows that too, even as Emma chooses to let silence settle over them. But the silence isn't uncomfortable in the least. It's the silence of not needing words. Right here, in Regina's arms, Emma feels at peace.

Regina reaches forward and kisses the side of Emma's cheek, before Emma turns into the kiss, pressing their lips together. "I love you so very much," Regina whispers.

"I love you too," Emma replies, leaning back again and letting herself be held.

It's her birthday. And she isn't alone.


	5. Chapter 5

"You lied to me! You told me he was dead!"

"Henry..." Emma gasps.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"Because I never thought I would see him again. I never wanted to." Emma had kept two reminders of Neal: a necklace and a car. The first had been a reminder never to trust again, a reminder that she removed from her neck two nights after she and Regina had gotten engaged. The car she kept. It was all Emma had after she got out of prison, and she had turned it from a reminder of Neal into a symbol of her ability to persevere and to stand on her own.

"Why not?"

"He was a thief, a liar, a bad guy. And he broke my heart."

"I could have taken it, you know? The truth." Yes, she does know. That had never been Emma's real concern if she's being honest with herself.

"It was just a part of my life I wanted to forget. That's why I didn't tell you. I was thinking of me, not you."

"I want to go see my dad," Henry says, walking away from Emma and back into Gold's store where father and son are mid-reunion.

Emma's about to follow Henry inside, but she thinks better of it. He's not quick when it comes to forgiveness.

She watches them through the window. Emma trusts Neal not to hurt Henry, she thinks, but definitely not enough to leave her son alone with him and Rumplestilskin.

Emma takes her phone out of her pocket and hits the speed dial.

"Hello dear," Regina's voice is soft and sweet on the other end of the phone. That tone is about to change real fast.

"Regina." Emma is hyperventilating. Her voice comes out raspy and panicked.

"What's wrong?"

"Henry's father's here," Emma says, and she can't stop the tears that creep their way into her voice. She feels like she's going to pass out.

"What?!"

"Gold's son is Henry's father. I didn't know. We ran into him, and I was flustered, and I…"

Regina has developed the ability to read between the lines of her wife's ramblings. "Henry knows."

"Yes."

The jealousy hits Regina like a wave. It's like the night Emma had shown up on her doorstep all over again, only this time Regina feels the threat of losing both her son and her wife.

"Is this man dangerous?" Regina asks, because her first priority right now must be her son's safety. Years of dealing with Rumplestilskin have taught Regina to never trust the imp, and the thought that her former mentor now has a reason to take interest in her son terrifies her.

"I don't think so," Emma says. She hasn't told her wife much about Neal, or really much about her past at all. For Regina, telling Emma about her history had provided a sense of love and acceptance. But Emma prefers to keep the past in the past. Ignore it and move on. The strategy had always worked, until now when her past decided to waltz right into Storybrooke.

"Where are you?" Regina asks.

"I'm standing outside Gold's shop."

"Henry?"

"He's talking to Neal right now."

"You let Henry talk to that man?"

Emma laughs. "You try stopping Henry from doing something he has his mind set on. He's your kid: stubborn as hell."

"I'm on my way."

The line goes dead, and Emma is left to stare through the window of the pawn shop at her son with his father.

* * *

Emma likes to believe that she has mellowed out her wife's evil queen tendencies, but nothing brings out that side of Regina like her family being threatened.

"Mr. Cassady," Regina says, strolling into Gold's store and extending a hand with a perfectly menacing politician's smile on her face. The man reaches out and shakes her hand. "I'm Regina Mills, Henry's mother."

Neal looks confused for a second before recovering, "It's nice to meet you Ms. Mills."

"May I have a word, please?"

Regina leads them into the back of Gold's shop. "What are your intentions with my son?"

"Look, I didn't even know that I had a kid until a few minutes ago. I was dragged here by a father I never wanted to see again. The last thing I expected was to see Emma and to find out that we had a son."

"My question remains."

"I'm not going to hurt Henry. I grew up without a father, and I just don't like the idea of my kid thinking that his father would abandon him the same way."

Regina studies the man in front of her carefully. He seems to be telling the truth, and importantly, he seems not to be aligned with Rumplestilskin. "If you hurt either of them –"

"I won't," Neal tells her, cutting off the threat. "I didn't mean to hurt Emma, I swear. What I did, I thought was for her own good."

The anger rises in Regina. "It would be in your best interest if you stopped right there," she warns.

Neal nods, and Regina strides out of Rumplestilskin's shop. It's an uneasy truce, but a truce nonetheless.

* * *

Neal drops Henry off at home exactly at the time promised. When Emma tries to say hello, he walks past her without a word, heading for the swing set in the backyard.

Regina follows her son outside and sits down on the swing next to his. "How was your time with Neal?" She still hates the idea of sharing Henry, but she is not going to repeat her mistakes. As much as it hurts, she will support her son developing a relationship with this man if that's what Henry wants.

"Ok, I guess," he says with a shrug.

"What is it?" Regina prompts when Henry doesn't say anything more, just stares at the ground.

"Emma lied to me." He calls Emma by her name, something he hasn't done since he asked if it would be ok to start calling her _Ma _three years ago.

"I know she did, but she was –"

"No!" Henry nearly yells. "Don't say she was trying to protect me. She was selfish. She told me that she lied to protect herself."

Sometimes Regina sees so much of herself in Henry that it's scary. There are things that she is deeply proud to have instilled in her son: his determination, his strength, his belief that he can accomplish whatever he puts his mind to. But then there's this: the way his hackles are raised at the idea that someone betrayed him, the way he finds it difficult to forgive and move on.

"You forgave me for worse," she reminds him.

Henry looks at his mom quickly before turning his gaze back to the ground.

"I know that I'm not a good role model for forgiving people," Regina says, trying to head off the accusations of hypocrisy. "But it's an important thing to be able to do, because no one is perfect. And if you push away everyone who is less than perfect, you'll be left with no one. And that is the very last thing I want for you."

Henry looks up at his mom; the honesty in her words catching him off-guard. Her past mistakes and hurts are laid out bare.

He kicks at the dirt under his feet.

"I know that this doesn't solve anything, but I want you to remember that Emma and I love you so much. You are our whole world. And love like that is worth holding on to."

"She should have told me!"

"Probably," Regina agrees.

Henry really looks at his mom then. She's changed so much from when he was growing up. She had been a woman of black and white, of absolutes, and she had taught him as much. But now she's looking at him with a gaze of acceptance for the fact that nothing and no one is perfect, least of all her. Henry offers his mom a smile in return.

"Is it ok for me to see Neal again?"

Regina nods. Henry brings out the best in her, so even though it hurts, she will do what is right for her son.

"Will Emma be upset if I want to see him?"

"No, but you should probably talk to her."

"I will, but I'm not ready yet."

"That's ok," Regina reassures him, before adding: "I'm proud of you."

* * *

It's time. After three years of marriage, Emma is finally going to talk to Regina about their son's conception and birth. Maybe she should have done it earlier, but oh God, it still hurts so much to think about that time.

Emma is sitting against the headboard – her back ramrod straight, tension etches into every line of her face – when Regina climbs into bed beside her. Regina takes Emma's hand, winding their fingers together, and giving a squeeze. Regina wants to know the truth – she _needs_ to know now that Neal is in town, capable of hurting Henry– but she doesn't want to push Emma before she's ready.

"I gave birth to Henry while I was chained to a bed," Emma says. _Why not start with the worst of it?_

"I'm sorry. That must have been humiliating and _so_ difficult for you." Emma nods; there are no words.

Regina reaches over to give Emma a gentle kiss, her hand lingering on the blonde's cheek. "Thank you for having the strength to do that. We have a beautiful boy because of your strength."

"Yea. And 'cause I got knocked up by Rumplestilskin's son."

"_You_ carried Henry for nine months. _You _grew him inside you." Regina doesn't feel like there is anything missing in her relationships with Henry and Sam because she didn't give birth to them. But there is something that feels almost magical about the idea of having a child grow inside you. It's one more thing that Emma has done that makes Regina look at her wife like she has the most powerful magic in the world.

"And you raised him on your own for ten years."

"And now we're doing it together. We make a pretty good team, I would say."

"I bet Henry would disagree with you on that," Emma says, looking dejected.

"Henry will be fine. He loves you."

"I fucked this up. Just like I fuck up everything."

"Now I hardly think that's true," Regina says, trying to offset her wife's disdain for herself with a playful smile. "Henry forgave me for cursing an entire land. I think he will manage to forgive you as well."

"You don't know who I was before I came here," Emma says. Regina really has only seen the better parts of Emma. She missed out on the woman who had left jail bitter and hating the world. The woman who had stolen and manipulated people to get money, to set herself up in a life where she would never have to depend on or trust anyone again.

"Tell me."

Emma looks at her wife – at eyes filled with love – and begins to talk. "I met Neal when I was 15. I had run away from a foster home. The last one I had been in, they beat me. The father, he tried…" she can't say the words. Regina stares at her in horror, grips her hand tighter. "He didn't succeed," Emma reassures her wife. "So when they put me in the next home, I took off. I didn't want to wait for something to happen."

"It turns out that I have a real skill for breaking and entering," Emma says, trying to lighten the mood. "I was stealing cars to make money to pay for a hotel room. One day I stole a car that Neal was sleeping in. Turned out that he had stolen the car himself. We fell in love. Or I thought we did. I was a kid, and I'd never had anyone who loved me before."

Regina wraps her arm around her wife and presses their bodies together. It makes Regina's heart ache to think about what Emma has been through. Regina is amazed everyday that her wife had that kind of childhood and made it through a good person.

"We had all these crazy plans: to move to Tallahassee, to get a place together," Emma continues, pleased by the hint of possessiveness in her wife's embrace. Regina has nothing at all to worry about. Maybe what Emma had with Neal felt like love at a time when she barely understood the word, but now she understands something she never thought she could: the depth of love and commitment it takes to have a real relationship. The kind of love it took to finally make Emma know that she had found _home._

"It ended when Neal let me take the fall for stealing some watches that he had lifted. He claims now that he only did that because August told him who I really was and that I had a destiny to fulfill."

Regina feels her wife's body stiffen with anger, and she understands the awful feeling of realizing that people have been using you as a pawn for longer than you could have ever imagined. They're both strong women, and they both possess a fierce desire to be in control of their lives after having been deprived of that control for so long.

"I realized that I was pregnant after I'd been in jail almost two months. I loved Henry from the moment I found out." It's something that Emma hasn't admitted to herself for a long time. It had been easier to forget about the child she had put up for adoption if she convinced herself she felt nothing for him. "He helped me through being in prison, made it less lonely. I talked to him, and I promised him that I was giving him away because I wanted him to have a mother who could take care of him, who knew what love meant."

Emma smiles at Regina, because in all this, there is something that almost feels like fate. Even though Emma knows that it was Rumplestilskin's twisted manipulations, the fact that Regina had been the one to raise Henry feels like it was meant to be in the best possible way.

"I got out, and I promised myself that I would never be fooled again. I did whatever I needed to take care of myself, and I didn't care who I hurt along the way. When Henry showed up at my door, I hadn't cared about anyone for ten years."

"He certainly knows how to worm his way into your heart," Regina says with nothing but affection. Their son had done the same for her. "Perhaps he gets that from you."

"Or from you," Emma replies, relaxing for the first time since this conversation began. She reaches over and kisses her wife. The kiss is tender and caring and familiar in a way that only grows more comforting the longer Emma and Regina are together.

"Lie down with me," Regina coaxes, pulling Emma's body against hers. Regina rubs gentle circles on Emma's back, the same way she soothes their kids. "I'm sorry Neal's in town. I'm sorry that you have to remember the past."

"I'll be fine," Emma says without even thinking about it. It's her default response. She's fine. She'll survive.

"I know you will be, but I still hate to see you in pain."

Emma kisses her wife again.

"Do you think Henry will forgive me?" Emma asks when she pulls back from the kiss.

"Of course he will. Everything really will be ok," Regina reassures her wife. Emma closes her eyes and rests her head in the crook of Regina's neck. "Try to sleep, dear. I love you."

"I love you too," Emma says, overcome suddenly by the power of those words. "I love you so much, Regina."

"And I you."

* * *

"You're kind of a brat." Sam grabs an apple off her mom's tree and walks over to where her brother is sitting on a swing and moping.

"Good morning to you too."

"I love you Henry, but you really are a brat," Sam reaffirms before taking a bite of her apple.

"And why is that?"

"It's been four days and you still aren't talking to Ma."

"She lied to me!" Henry says, annoyed that his sister is taking their mother's side.

"Maybe she did it to protect you. Ma and Mom wouldn't lie to us unless they had a good reason. They love us."

_Sam just doesn't understand_, Henry thinks. _She sees their mothers as perfect, because they had saved her from an awful situation_. "She lied to protect herself," he says, annoyed, hoping to shatter Sam's perfect image just a bit. "She admitted it. She did it for herself; not for me."

Sam looks thoughtful for a minute while she eats the apple. "I think that's even more of a reason to forgive her."

"What?" Henry asks. _Sam needs to stop talking in riddles and leave him alone._

"Like I said before," Sam says, getting a little annoyed herself now. "You're a brat. You don't know what it's like to have something happen to you that's so bad that all you want to do is forget about it."

Henry's about to protest, but he bites his tongue. The worst experiences in his life certainly are nothing like Sam's.

"I think you should stop giving Ma the silent treatment," Sam says, walking away and leaving Henry feeling more than a little guilty.

* * *

Henry waits until Emma is alone in the kitchen putting dishes away before he approaches her. "Can I help?" he asks sheepishly.

"Sure." A look of shock spreads across Emma's face at hearing her son talking to her.

The dishwasher is almost empty before Henry finds the courage to say anything else. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Henry. I lied to you."

"Yea, but maybe you had your reasons."

Emma catches Henry's eyes and offers him a smile, grateful that he's talking to her again. "If you have questions about your dad you can ask me, ok. I don't want this to be weird."

"Rumplestilskin's my grandfather. That's always going to be weird," Henry jokes. He's not ready for a serious conversation right now. Maybe he's a coward, but the idea of hearing about a time in Emma's life that was so awful that she wanted to forget it scares him a little.

"Any weirder than the rest of your family tree?"

"Nah. Guess not."

"I love you, kid." They are words that still feel strange to say sometimes, but God does Emma mean them with her whole heart.

"I love you too."

They let it be for now. Easy and normal. There are harder conversations in the future. But for now, things are ok.


	6. Chapter 6

Regina and Sam drop the grocery bags on the kitchen island. Sam immediately reaches into one of the plastic bags, pulls out the bag of gummy worms, and digs right in.

Regina begins unpacking the groceries. "Leave enough for the cupcakes," she tells her daughter who had come home from school the day before insisting that they needed to make _worm and dirt cupcakes_ after a kid in her class had brought them in for his birthday.

"Ew," Sam says scrunching up her nose, "Even I can't eat a pound of gummy worms."

"I believe I saw evidence to the contrary last time we went to the movies."

"It wasn't _that _many," Sam says, rolling her eyes, and carrying a carton of juice and some yogurt to the refrigerator. "Can I leave everything out for cupcakes?"

"Sure. Want to start crumbling cookies while I finish putting groceries away?" Regina hands Sam a bowl and nudges the package of Oreos towards her.

"Do you have a lot of homework this weekend?"

"No," Sam says far too quickly.

"You are a terrible liar," Regina says, sending a playful glare at her kid who can't suppress a giggle at being caught. Sam really is a terrible liar.

"I can do my homework on Sunday."

"You most definitely cannot," Regina says incredulously. _Did she really think that one was going to fly?_ "I'll help you with math after we put these in the oven."

Sam sighs and resigns herself to her fate. "Cookies crumbled," she declares a few minutes later, as Regina pours oil into a mixing bowl. "Now what can I do?"

"Do you want to start measuring out dry ingredients?"

They know the recipe for chocolate cupcakes by heart. Sam is a big fan of chocolate, and after she and Regina had tried out several different cake recipes, they had found a favorite and stuck with it.

"Mom?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you cast the curse?"

Regina is cracking eggs when Sam asks, and it's a miracle that she keeps the shells from ending up in the batter.

"I…I…"Regina stutters a moment before pursing her lips and thinking. Henry, for all his interest in magic and fairytales, has never asked why Regina cast the curse. She's unprepared for this moment.

"It's ok, you don't have to tell me. I was just curious." Sam asks, going back to measuring out flour. She asks like a kid who just wants to know more about her mother when she was young, who wants to know more about the most important person in her life before she became the only version of Regina that Sam has ever known: her mother.

Regina swallows. Her throat feels tight, and she worries about whether Sam will hate her, the way Henry once had. "I wanted to start over somewhere that I could be happy. I thought that going to a new world would give me another chance at happiness." It's not the whole story – not by a long shot – but perhaps it's an acceptable explanation for Regina's twelve-year-old daughter.

"Did it work?" Sam asks, putting the measuring cup down and focusing all her attention on Regina. The former queen is relieved that there isn't a hint of malice in her daughter's voice.

"Eventually." Regina smiles, because even if it had taken decades, she has such joy in her life now. "Storybrooke brought me to you and Henry and Ma."

"I'm glad you found me," Sam says in that serious tone she gets when she is feeling particularly grateful to have parents who love her.

"Me too, baby." Regina walks around the island to wrap her arms around Sam. Regina is _so, so _glad that she has this amazing little girl. Regina looks at her daughter, a hand lingering on Sam's cheek. She can't stop smiling at this girl who has brought her so much more love than Regina would have known to ask for. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Regina leans forward and places a soft kiss to Sam's forehead. There's still a fear that creeps in when Regina thinks about the past, a gnawing terror that everyone she loves will leave her. She swallows it down so that Sam won't see. The only thing Sam needs to know is that Regina loves her dearly and would do anything to make her happy.

"Are we making butter cream or ganache?" Regina asks, because if she stays in the silence she's bound to become too emotional.

"Butter cream. It'll look more like dirt."

"Ok baby," Regina says, a soft smile overtaking her face once more as she looks at her daughter. She can't pull herself away for a minute, and just stands there memorizing the curve of Sam's smile.

* * *

It smells like chocolate when Emma gets home from dropping Henry off with Neil. She tries to be an adult about the fact that the man who put her in prison is back in her life, but she doesn't always succeed. Emma is wearing a scowl when she walks into the kitchen and sits down on a stool in front of the bowl of freshly made frosting. She sticks her finger into the bowl, scoops up the chocolately goo, and shoves it in her mouth.

"You are the reason that our daughter keeps sticking her fingers in cake batter," Regina says, grabbing a spoon out of the silverware drawer and handing it to Emma.

Sam giggles from her perch on the kitchen counter. It's comforting to watch her mothers together, to know that she lives in a house filled with love.

Regina wraps her arms around her wife from behind. "Everything go ok?" Regina asks, her thumb caressing Emma's forearm.

"Yeah," Emma says, fully aware that she's moping. She dips her spoon into the frosting and takes another bite. Emma looks up and forces herself out of her funk. "Good frosting, Sammie."

"Wait until you try the cupcakes. I think they're the best Mom and I have ever made."

"You two are pretty great bakers." Emma feels Regina's arms tighten. Her wife knows her so well, knows her moods, knows when she needs an extra hug, knows how to make Emma feel safe and loved.

Emma turns around and gives Regina a gentle, chocolatey kiss. Regina's hands wind their way through blonde strands.

"I'm going to start frosting the cupcakes, ok?" Sam is already pulling the frosting bowl away from Emma before Regina can say a word. The former queen intertwines her fingers with her wife's and pulls the blonde with her to help their daughter.

Years ago what Neil had done to Emma made her vow never to trust again. Even after months of him living in Storybrooke, each time she sees him feels like a reminder of being unwanted and betrayed. But then Regina's fingers dip under Emma's t-shirt and rest on the small of the blonde's back. Fingers caress soft skin: a mixture of comfort, a hint of possessiveness, and so much love.

Emma leans against Regina, knowing that she's needed as much as she needs.

"Can we have a girls' night?" Sam asks as she sticks a gummy worm into the top of a cupcake.

"I think that's a given since Henry won't be here," Emma says, and Sam rolls her eyes.

"No, Ma. Like a real girls' night. With nail polish and doing makeovers and girly movies."

"Sure thing, kid," Emma says, not because she's particularly in the mood to have her nails painted, but because she will get to see her daughter smile and squeal with joy. She will probably get to see Regina with pigtails and ridiculous bright blue eyeliner. It sounds like a damn good evening.


	7. Chapter 7

_There were quite a few requests for a continuation of the last chapter, so here it is. I hope this lives up to your expectations. Thanks for all your reviews, favorites, and alerts. It is always very much appreciated!_

* * *

"We're going to have a _Harry Potter _marathon," Sam announces walking into the living room with all eight DVDs in her hands.

"I thought you were going to make us watch girly movies," Emma says with a smile. She continues running her fingers through Regina's hair while the former queen rests her head on Emma's shoulder.

"It will be girly when I get the makeup and nail polish," Sam says sticking out her tongue. She knows just how much her blonde mother is not a fan of girly; that's half the fun.

"The real question," Regina says, not moving her head from Emma's shoulder; her wife's hands feel too good, "is what time do you think you're staying up until tonight? Because I see about 20 hours of movies in your hands."

Sam rolls her eyes, drops the DVDs on the coffee table, and runs back up to her room to get makeover supplies.

"You ok?" Regina asks once Sam is out of earshot.

"Yeah," Emma answers quickly. Regina sits up straight and looks at her wife. The glare tells Emma that she has been caught, and Regina isn't letting this conversation end until she has the truth. "I was just thinking."

"I've warned you not to do that too much," Regina teases. She reaches up and cups Emma's cheek. "Talk to me."

"I'm being stupid," Emma says, shaking her head, as though she can shake the melancholy thoughts away. "Just thinking about the past."

"About Neil?" Regina asks, and though she tries not to be jealous, it creeps in sometimes.

Emma leans forward and kisses Regina. "You have nothing to worry about, babe. I'm yours." Regina smiles at this, and continues waiting expectantly for Emma to talk. "I was thinking about the years after I was in prison, the years when you were raising our son. I was thinking about everything that I missed out on while I was busy fucking up my life. Usually I try to forget what it was like to be so alone, but tonight…"

"You're not alone," Regina says patiently. She's said these words countless times, just as Emma has said them to her. "And you will never be alone again. You have Henry and Sam and me, and we all love you so very much." Regina strokes her fingers along her wife's jaw, watching as Emma's eyes soften and a little smile spreads across her face.

"Thank you." _For the comfort. For loving her._

"Anytime, my dear," Regina says, tangling her fingers in Emma's hair. "I love you," Regina whispers, before pressing the gentlest of kisses to her wife's lips.

"I love you too." This affection, this intimacy, even after they've been together for years, is still overwhelming to Emma at times. She stares at Regina with a teary smile.

They stay like that, smiling lovingly at each other, until Sam returns carrying a box of makeup. "Who's going first?" she asks, setting the box down and putting the first movie into the DVD player.

"Why don't we do you first," Regina suggests.

"Nice try Mom." Sam sits down next to Regina. "I think Ma and I should do you."

"I like that plan," Emma says, smirking a little at her wife. She leans over and presses a peck to Regina's cheek before picking up the most ridiculous makeup she can find: blue glitter eye shadow and pink, shiny lip-gloss. "I'll do makeup. You do nails?"

"Sounds good," Sam says, smiling widely. "What color do you want Mom?"

Emma fully expects a boring answer like pink or maroon - something that Regina can wear to work. But her wife surprises her. "Green, please." If Regina is getting a ridiculous makeover, she might as well go all out.

Sam takes her mom's hands in her lap and begins painting.

"All right, you ready?" Emma asks, opening up the eye shadow.

"Do your worst, sheriff."

Harry Potter is getting a letter from Hogwarts when Sam declares, "All done!" She grabs the handheld mirror and holds it up for Regina, who lets out a deep, rich chuckle at her appearance. Blue eye shadow up to her brows. Thick mascara. Bright red blush. Hair in pigtails that stick straight out from the sides of her head.

"If I ever get tired of being sheriff, I think I could get a job as a makeup artist. What do you think Sammie?"

Samantha giggles. "I think you're next."

"Do you like your makeup?" Emma asks her wife.

"This is nothing, dear. You should have seen some of the makeup I wore as queen."

"According to Henry's book, your hair was rather impressive too, though I think pigtails are as good as it gets."

"I couldn't agree more," Regina says, leaning forward to grab two pink polka dot scrunchies off the pile of hair accessories. Regina's eyes gleam with the prospect of payback. She smiles playfully at her wife. Game on.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sam, we need to talk." Never the words fourteen year old Sam wants to hear upon opening the door to her house.

Emma is pacing the hallway, and clearly has been for a while now. She has a sheet of paper and an open envelope in her hands. Sam recognizes the handwriting immediately and freezes. "You weren't going to tell us?"

"I only wrote one letter. I didn't even think she would write back."

"She did," Emma says swallowing hard. She needs to relax and not bombard her daughter with questions in the doorway.

"You had no right to open my mail," Sam yells. She grabs the letter out of Emma's hands and begins to read.

"Sam, you can tell Mom and me anything," Emma says, her voice softening.

"But I didn't tell you this. You stole my mail and read it."

"I'm sorry. I was just worried."

"You were worried because my mother wrote me a letter? You can't stop me from talking to _my mother_."

It hurts more than Emma would have imagined. She isn't normally jealous. As long as she's been a mother, her children have always had another mother; she's used to sharing. But the way Sam says it – the way Sam makes it sound like the woman who abused her is her real mother, and Emma is nothing – crushes Emma.

Emma swallows back the tears that threaten, reminds herself that pushing away the people who cared for her had been her own favorite coping mechanism as well. "Come sit down with me, Sammie."

"I just want to read my letter," Sam says angrily. Emma wonders if she did this all wrong, if she should have waited for Regina, if she should have at least let Sam put her backpack down before cornering her.

"And I want you to leave me alone." Sam turns and runs upstairs.

"I love you Sam," Emma calls after her daughter, knowing that she herself has needed those words most when she was pushing people away.

Samantha's door slams shut.

* * *

"I'm so sorry," Emma says the second Regina opens the front door.

The red, teary eyes scare the hell out of the brunette. "What's wrong?"

"Sam wrote Mary a letter."

"What?" Regina asks, shocked.

"Mary wrote back, and I opened the letter. Sam's furious at me; she won't open her door."

"Hey," Regina says, cupping Emma's cheek. "It's going to be ok." She isn't sure she believes the words, but Regina is at her best when she needs to be strong for other people, and right now her wife and daughter need her.

"What are we going to do, Regina?"

"We are going to take care of our daughter. Come on," Regina says, taking Emma's hand and leading Emma towards the stairs.

Emma stops walking. "She doesn't want to talk to me."

"She needs to know that we are not going anywhere," Regina says. A year of fighting for Henry had taught her a lot about putting her own insecurities aside and being consistent and unyielding in her support and love of her children, even when they are pushing her away.

Emma knows the truth of Regina's words. That certainty had been what Emma sought since she was a child. She nods, and they continue up the stairs together.

Regina knocks on Sam's door. No reply.

The brunette struggles still to not take this as a personal rejection. There is too much resonance to when Henry had pushed her away. This is too much of a reminder of her fears that she will never be good enough, that her children will always choose a different mother. But she will not let her own insecurities stop her from being what her daughter needs.

"Sam? Can we please talk to you?"

"Leave me alone!"

Regina reminds herself that raising Sam comes with unique challenges, and that this little girl – she's not so little anymore – needs Regina to be strong. "Ma and I are going to stay right here Samantha. In case you need us, we're right here."

"I'm sorry," Emma says again.

"Don't be," Regina says, hugging her wife. "This isn't your fault. She's just upset, and we will help her through it."

When Sam leaves her room two hours later she finds her mothers sitting on the floor, wrapped in each other's arms. The sight makes the emotions well up in Sam's chest.

"Hey, sweetie," Regina says with a smile. Sam looks hesitant, maybe like she's embarrassed about her earlier behavior.

She walks towards her mothers nonetheless, sitting down a couple feet from them and crossing her legs.

Emma offers her daughter a smile. "How are you feeling?" Sam shrugs. Emma decides to move onto heftier topics: "Do you want to see her?"

Sam looks down, suddenly intensely interested by her hands. "I don't want to make you guys upset," she whispers, tears filling her own voice.

Regina reaches forward and puts her hand on Sam's knee. "We won't be upset Sam," Regina says, though the thought of Sam reconnecting with Mary makes Regina incredibly anxious. "We love you, and if you want to do this, then we are going to support you."

That's all it takes for Sam to throw herself into Regina's arms and begin crying. "I don't know what I want to do. She wants to see me."

"This is about what you want, honey. Ok?" Regina whispers into Sam's hair. Her hands rub soothing circles while she cradles Sam like a baby.

"I don't know what I want," Sam mutters into Regina's shoulder.

"That's ok," Emma reassures, reaching over and pushing a strand of hair back from Sam's face. She smiles at her daughter, wishing she could spare her child this pain.

"I'm sorry Ma," Sam says, "I shouldn't have been mean to you." Sam moves to hug Emma, and the blonde is so grateful to have her daughter in her arms again.

"It's ok, Sammie. We've got you. Everything will be ok." Maybe Emma shouldn't promise these things. Maybe everything with Sam's birthmother will blow up in their faces, but Emma reasons that one way or another she and Regina _will_ make things ok for their daughter.

* * *

After weeks of agonizing conversations, Regina and Emma agree to take Sam to see Mary.

Emma's feet feel like lead as they walk across the prison yard. Being here – inside these high walls with guards everywhere – she expects to be restrained, to be confined. It's irrational, and she knows she can walk out of here at anytime, but it doesn't matter. Emma stops for a minute, thinks she might be sick. Regina takes her wife's hand, gives her a smile so full of compassion and understanding that Emma feels bolstered, feels strong enough to keep going for their daughter. Regina squeezes Emma's hand as they walk – _she won't let me fall_.

Emma is shaking by the time they are sitting and waiting for Mary to be brought to the visiting room. Emma squeezes Regina's hand so tightly that the brunette's fingers begin to tingle from lack of blood.

"Are you sure you want to go in there alone?" Emma asks Sam.

"Yeah. But you'll be here when I'm done, right?"

"Of course," Emma says.

"Ok." Sam gathers her courage.

Regina offers an encouraging smile, reminding her daughter, "We love you."

* * *

Sam runs towards Regina, wrapping her arms around her mom and holding on tight. Regina's heart breaks as her daughter's chest begins to shake with sobs.

"I want to go," Sam says through tears. "I can't…I can't." But Sam is frozen to the spot, clinging to Regina. "Mommy," she whimpers in a strangled sob, like she's checking that she still has her mom.

"I have you sweetheart. Ma and I are right here," she reassures. Emma takes the cue and walks closer, placing a gentle hand on her daughter's head.

"I just want to hate her," Sam sobs. "I want to hate her so much." Before Emma or Regina can respond, Sam continues. "She asked me to forgive her. She told me she was sorry, and she loves me."

Regina hugs Sam tighter. These complex feelings that Sam has about her biological mother resonate too strongly with Regina, and she does her best to push all thoughts of Cora from her mind. She holds her daughter, wishing there was something she could do to make this all better.

* * *

Sam had cried inconsolably into Regina's chest for nearly a half hour before they had walked to the car. The drive home had been nearly silent, and now, sitting on the couch next to Sam while Regina makes them all hot chocolate, Emma doesn't know what to do.

Sam is curled into the corner of the couch, Emma's arm wrapped around her, trying to offer comfort.

Regina hands them both a warm mug and sits down next to Emma. The brunette wraps her arm around her wife, and they sit watching the cartoons that Sam has requested, wondering how to make things better for their daughter.

Regina wakes up – not even realizing that she had dozed off against Emma – to the sound of Sam crying. Emma is trying to soothe, but the tears are coming harder by the second. Emma wraps her arm around Sam while Regina moves to crouch in front of their daughter, resting a soothing hand on Sam's knee. "It's ok. You're ok," she whispers, rubbing circles on Sam's knee. The girl is crying so hard that she's coughing. "Shh, shh. Take a deep breath."

Emma keeps rubbing Sam's back as she doubles over, tucking her face into her knees. Regina puts her hand on the back of Sam's head, and the girl falls forward into her mom's arms. She curls herself onto Regina's lap like a tiny child, and Regina wishes desperately that Sam had been hers as a baby so that she could have loved her from the start, so that she could have protected her from pain.

Regina wraps her arms around Sam tightly, and Sam just clings and cries. "Ma," she calls to Emma, who slides down to the floor so that she can hold Sam too. Sam stays wrapped in a cocoon of her mothers' arms, encircling her safely while she cries.

"We've got you, kid," Emma promises, moving closer.

"She always told me that I ruined her life. Since I can remember, she told me it was all my fault that she used."

"It wasn't your fault Sam," Emma reassures.

Regina kisses Sam's forehead. "You are the most incredible, kind, smart, beautiful young woman, and Ma and I are so lucky that you're our daughter. You make our lives better every single day. I wish that Mary knew what a precious gift she had in her life, and that she could have taken care of you like you deserved. But you need to remember that you _are_ special and amazing and such a wonderful gift."

"You know," Emma says lightly, "You are in a three way tie for the best thing that ever happened to me."

Sam lets out something between a sniffle and a laugh. "So you've said once or twice."

"Well, I want you to remember it. I know that everything that happened today and in these last few weeks has been really hard. But I don't want you to forget that you have parents that love you more than anything in the whole wide world." Emma repeats the silly phrase she's used since Sam came to live with them. She is rewarded with a small smile.

Sam swallows back tears, composes herself a little. Sniffles and smiles at her moms again. Her body aches from the stress and the wracking tears and the emotions of the day. Before Sam realizes that she's shaking, Regina is wrapping a throw blanket around her shoulders. Sam doesn't think she can talk anymore, so she sits quietly and lets her moms try their very best to heal her.


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm sorry; this chapter is extremely angsty. I was interested in delving a little more into Regina and Emma as parents to a child that really needs special care. The chapter deals with sexual abuse, so please skip it if that triggers or upsets you. I promise more fluff in future chapters (I'm having a strong desire to write Emma and Regina's anniversary, so that might be the next chapter). As always, reviews are very much appreciated._

* * *

The weeks since visiting Mary in prison have not been easy.

Sam is lying on the couch with her head on Regina's lap. Regina is rubbing her daughter's back soothingly, wishing once again that there were something else she could do. Sam clings, and Regina is grateful for that. Being pushed away triggers all of Regina's fears.

Sam curls her knees into her chest, turning on her side so that she is resting in a fetal position, her face pushing further into her mom's thigh. "I wrote her another letter," Sam says. Her eyes are closed tight.

Regina swallows back her anxiety. "Did she reply?" she asks, running fingers through her daughter's hair.

"I never sent it. I just needed to tell her how angry I am. She has no right to ask for forgiveness after what she did to me." Sam pauses. She wants to say the words that she's never said before; the words that have been weighing on her since seeing Mary brought back such awful memories. "What she let him do to me."

Regina feels like all the air has been sucked from her chest. _Oh God, anything but this. _She thought her daughter had been spared this one horror.

"She let him touch me. She knew, and she didn't stop him. Because he bought her drugs. Her high was more important than what he did to me." She lets out a sob.

"Oh Sam. Come here," Regina pushes gently on her daughter's shoulder, and Sam sits up and buries her face in her mom's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, sweetie." Regina holds Sam as tightly as she can, her heart breaking. "I'm sorry you went through that."

"He touched me," Sam says again, because she's held these words in for so long. Sam starts crying in earnest then. Deep gut-wrenching sobs that make Regina feel sick with sorrow.

Sam cries until the tears soak through her mother's shirt, until she feels like there is nothing left in her to cry. She clings to Regina so hard. "I've got you sweetheart. I've got you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Sam whispers.

"Shhh. Don't apologize. Thank you for telling me now."

* * *

Emma arrives home to two utterly devastated looking faces. She runs to the couch, sitting down next to Sam. "What's wrong?"

"Can you tell her," Sam whispers, her face buried in Regina's neck. "I can't say it again."

"Sure, honey. But you know that Ma loves you and will just want to help you."

Emma looks at Regina with terror in her eyes. "What is it?" she asks, her hand resting on Sam's back.

"Please Mom, I just can't say it."

"Ok," Regina says. "Right before Sam came into our lives, one of Mary's boyfriends abused her."

Regina sees the pain in Emma's face and she knows that her wife understands. Emma wraps her arms around Sam and Regina.

"I'm sorry Sammie," Emma whispers into her daughter's hair. Emma reaches out and grabs one of Regina's hands, squeezing tightly. They need each other's strength.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Sam whispers from tight in the security of both her mothers' embraces. "I was embarrassed," she admits.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Sam," Emma promises. "It wasn't your fault. None of it was your fault." It's a mantra that she and Regina will repeat everyday.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Sam whispers. She's lying against her mom's chest after Regina had come home from work to find Sam in bed crying.

"For what?"

"That I'm crying again. That you're taking care of me."

"You can cry all you need, Sam. You take as long as you need to grieve, baby. Ma and I will be right here with you."

"That's why I feel bad."

"You're our daughter Sam. All we want is to take care of you and help you deal with what happened to you."

"It's not fair to you."

"You are the most precious thing in my life. I am nothing but grateful that you're my daughter."

"You should have a better daughter."

"Sam, look at me," Regina says firmly. "You are the all I could ever hope for. You are kind and strong and funny. And I love you so much."

Sam rests her head back on Regina's chest. "I can't stop feeling his hands. I close my eyes and I can see him again. I hadn't thought about it for years."

"And seeing Mary made you remember?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes you need to remember the bad things that happened to you so that you can deal with them and move on."

"I feel like it'll always be there."

Regina kisses the crown of Sam's head before saying, "It will be, but it will get easier to live with. You _will _be able to get to a place where you don't think about what happened all the time."

"Really?" Sam asks skeptically.

"Really. I know it hurts right now, but it'll get better. Ma and I will help you. And working with Dr. Hopper will help. I promise."

Regina has been wrestling with whether to tell Sam about her past, but the way Sam is looking at her skeptically – like she doesn't believe that this is something she can ever move past – makes Regina know she needs to share this.

"What happened to me is nothing like what you went through," Regina begins, and Sam sits up to look at her mom. "I was married, without my consent, when I was 17. Back in that world, a wife wasn't allowed to refuse her husband, and mine was the king."

"I'm sorry," Sam says sadly.

Regina smiles at her daughter, pushes a curl back from a damp cheek. "I just wanted you to know that it doesn't mean that you can never be happy or in love. You can have a full life, sweetie."

"How did you get past it?"

"Well, first I did exactly what you shouldn't do and pretended that it didn't matter to me. But eventually I started talking to Archie about it, and he really did help me understand how it affected me and how I could deal with that." It had taken her so long to talk about it and many difficult sessions to begin coming to terms with the pain of her past. But she had trusted Archie eventually, and it truly had helped Regina to move on in this new life she shares with Emma and their children.

"And you're ok now?" Sam asks.

Regina nods. "I am so happy. I have a beautiful family. I have the two best kids in the world," she says with a grin. "And I have a wife that I love. Ma and I respect each other and take care of each other." There had been years of unhealthy sexual liaisons in which all that mattered to Regina was control. But with Emma, everything had changed.

Sam blushes a bit as she asks the next question, "And you enjoy having sex?" She needs to know, because when a boy in her class had tried to kiss her after school the other day she felt like she was going to vomit.

"Yes," Regina answers. She and Emma have had a few sex talks with their two teenagers, but Regina had never envisioned that she would have to have this kind of a talk. "When you're ready to have sex and you're in a relationship with someone you love, it can be a wonderful experience. It's important to find someone who respects what you want and need."

Sam nods and rests her head back on Regina's shoulder. She isn't ready to think about that yet. The idea of sex at all fills her with too much anxiety. "Thanks for telling me, Mom."

"Of course, sweetheart. Anything you want to talk about, I'm here."

"I know," Sam assures Regina.

"Good. And you know that I will never hurt you?"

"Mom," Sam begins, because yes she knows, and yes, her mothers have told her this time and time again.

"And Ma and I will do everything in our power to keep you safe and make sure that you never get hurt again."

"Mom, I know."

Regina smiles. "I'm glad. I'm probably going to keep telling you, but I'm glad you know."

"Ok," Sam says, feeling warm and safe for the moment. "Can we go for a walk? I want to get some fresh air."

"Of course," Regina says, happy that her daughter has the motivation to go outside. "What do you say we pick up Ma and go to Granny's for hot chocolate?"

"Yeah. That sounds good." Sam wants her mothers to soothe her and baby her and buy her hot chocolate. It helps as much as anything can help right now.

* * *

"I feel like such a hypocrite," Regina admits to Archie. "I tell Sam not to be ashamed, but there are only three people in the world who know about what Leopold did to me."

"Because you feel ashamed?"

Regina looks up and Archie sees the remnants of her famous glare. "Because I was weak, and I don't want people to know that. But I feel like if I keep it a secret then Sam will feel like she should hide what happened to her too. And I don't want her to feel that way."

"Why do you feel like you were weak?"

"Because I let him have sex with me for six years."

"We've talked about this before Regina. You didn't let him."

"I could have run away after I pushed my mother through the looking glass," Regina insists.

Archie has had this conversation with Regina several times since she first tentatively began to speak about her marriage. "That was after you were married. After he had already raped you several times." She looks up at him with that glare again. She hates the word rape, even if it is an accurate description for a wedding night full of sobbing and pain. "Do you think that changed anything Regina, that he had already forced you to have sex with him?"

Regina stands abruptly, walking to the window and looking out at the street below. She's still working to understand the journey she took to become the woman who had brought them all to this place. "I wanted Daniel back," she whispers.

"I know. But even if you hadn't Regina, where could you have gone? Where could you run to that he wouldn't have been able to hunt you down?" It's the truth; she had been trapped in those early years, until her magic had grown stronger. But that is the thing that cuts like a knife. The weakness of it.

"I should have been stronger."

"I think that a less strong person would not be standing in my office now. What you told Sam during her session yesterday about surviving, did you believe it?"

Of course Regina is logically aware that she has a double standard. She believes with everything in her that her daughter is brave and strong and a survivor. And she knows just as strongly that she herself is marred by the years of weakness.

Archie tries a different approach. "Why did you tell Sam that you were raped?"

"I wanted her to know that it's possible to be ok. Emma and I have a good relationship; Sam knows that. I thought it might help if Sam knew that I was able to do that even though I used to feel the same way she does now."

"I agree with you. I think it will help her to know that. I think you are an excellent role model." Regina raises an eyebrow at the therapist. "I'm being honest with you Regina. You changed your whole life. I know that coming to me was not easy at first, but you've worked through a lot here. And you're doing great now. You're a wonderful mother and wife."

Regina smiles and feels embarrassingly proud of herself.

"I'm afraid of failing Sam," Regina tells Archie then. "I just want to help her so badly."

"It takes time Regina. But you and Emma are doing everything you can for Sam. She doesn't need you to tell everyone you meet about what Leopold did to you. I think it's enough that you convey to her that it isn't something that ruins you or makes you less of a strong, loving person." Regina nods quietly. "If you need extra support now, I'm happy to start seeing you again as long as you want. This is hard for any parent, and it's especially difficult for parents who have been sexually assaulted themselves."

"I would appreciate that. Thank you."

Archie smiles. Of his many successes with Regina, this might be his greatest. She asks for help when she needs it.

* * *

Regina arrives home to find Emma and Sam in the backyard playing soccer. Emma is klutzy, uncoordinated, and utterly adorable.

Emma trips over her own feet, and Sam takes the opportunity to steal the ball away.

"Hey, no fair," Emma pouts as Sam scores a goal.

Sam's laughing like she doesn't have a care in the world. "How is that not fair? The whole point of the game is to have good foot-eye coordination. It's not my fault that you don't."

"Yeah, fine," Emma says happily, because seeing her daughter smiling is incredible.

"Hi Mom," Sam yells, spying Regina standing by the back door of the house.

"Hello, my girls," Regina replies.

Emma jogs over to Regina, giving her wife a loving kiss. "How was your session?" Emma asks when she pulls back. She wraps her arms loosely around the brunette's waist.

Regina wraps her arms around Emma, pulling her tighter. "It was exhausting," Regina answers truthfully.

"Anything I can do?"

"This," Regina says, squeezing Emma.

"I am always happy to hold my beautiful wife," Emma answers before placing another kiss to Regina's lips.

"Sam seems so happy," Regina says, scared to be hopeful.

"We had a good morning. She'll be ok," Emma reassures, though some moments she has doubts herself. "She's tough. Like her Mom."

"And like her Ma." Regina flashes Emma a smile before pulling back. "Thanks," she says, grateful to have a wife who knows exactly when she needs to be held.

"Come on," Regina says kicking off her heels, grabbing Emma's hand, and walking towards where Sam is standing with the soccer ball. "I'll be on your team. It appeared that you could use some help out there."


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: I hope you enjoy the final chapter of this story. I apologize in advance for how ridiculously sappy it is; although if you've made it this far, I suspect that you don't mind too much._

* * *

Emma wakes up to the sounds of birds chirping outside the window. As summer descends on Storybrooke the birds seem to awaken earlier and earlier. Emma looks at the clock on her bedside table – 3:52 a.m. It's a time that is far too early for the birds to be making all this noise in Emma's opinion.

Emma glances down at the woman sleeping in her arms. Six years ago today they had been married, and on that day Emma had thought she could never be happier. But she swears that everyday she grows more content and more in love.

Regina is curled into Emma, dark hair splayed across Emma's chest, soft puffs of air tickling her skin. Regina looks peaceful. For years, she had always seemed tormented in her sleep. Even on days when Regina couldn't recall nightmares, her face had seemed pained as she slept. But Emma has watched as the peaceful nights overtook the haunted ones, until now most nights find Regina's lips curling into a small smile as she rests.

Emma hates to disturb Regina, but she wants to check on Sam. As carefully as possible Emma maneuvers her body from under Regina, making sure to lay her head on a pillow. Regina mumbles and clutches the pillow closer, and Emma spends a moment just taking in the image of Regina like this before leaving the bedroom.

Anytime Emma or Regina wake up in the middle of the night they check on Sam – like they would have if they'd had her as a baby – back when they could have spared her the pain. Now they can only soothe – soothe the nightmares away and hope that it makes a difference.

Emma opens the door to Sam's room only to find it empty. She sighs sadly, knows that her daughter is having yet another sleepless night, and closes the door. Emma finds Sam on the couch in the living room wrapped in a comfy blanket and watching _Casablanca_. Years ago, Regina had shared her favorite insomnia routine of black and white movies and chamomile tea, and Sam has embraced it whole-heartedly.

"Hey Sammie," Emma says sitting down next to her daughter and stealing a corner of the blanket for herself. "Can't sleep?"

Sam shrugs and then asks her ma, "Why are you awake?"

"The birds are too damn loud."

Emma looks at Sam, clutching her mug of tea, holding on to it as though it were a tether to reality keeping her from reliving the awful memories again. "Come here," Emma says, extending an arm and allowing Sam to lean against her shoulder. Emma gives her daughter's arm a squeeze and feels the muscles in the young woman's body begin to slowly relax.

Emma had never planned to be a mother. She had resisted it, even after Henry had walked into her life and insisted that she was his mother. She had never seen herself as the mother type. After all, what could a woman raised in foster care know about how to take care of a child? But she had learned. Henry and Regina had taught her about school plays and how to pack the perfect lunch for school. About sacrifice and knowing that you would do anything for your child. And then Sam had come into their lives, and somehow Emma Swan the friendless orphan had become Emma Swan the wife and mother. And if the roles felt uneasy on occasion, if she still looked to Regina whenever Henry needed to be punished, it mattered little because Emma had a family at last.

* * *

The first light of day is peeking into the house as Emma watches her wife descend the stairs in a pair of boxers and an oversized t-shirt that she has stolen from Emma's closet. Emma had teased Regina when she first began raiding her closet, but then she had realized that her stubborn, oppositional wife would go back to her silk pajamas. So Emma had learned to shut her mouth, and her reward had been the continued sight of Regina strolling through the house looking ridiculously relaxed and casual.

"Hello my favorite girls," Regina says as she walks into the living room. Sam giggles, like she always does at the endearment. The sound of that laugh – high pitched and infectious – is the same as it had been when Sam had first come to live with Emma and Regina. The sound makes them smile now just as it had then.

Regina leans over to kiss Sam's head and steal a hand full of popcorn (Emma had decided that it was a perfectly acceptable breakfast for her and Sam) before sitting down in the empty spot on the couch next to Emma. The sheriff wraps her arm around Regina, pulling her closer. The brunette lays her head on her wife's shoulder and cuddles into Emma sleepily. "Happy anniversary," Regina mutters against her wife's chest.

Emma chuckles. "Happy anniversary."

"Did you have a nightmare?" Regina asks Sam.

"No. Just couldn't sleep." Regina reaches over and gives her daughter's knee a squeeze. "I'm ok, Mom."

Emma reaches her hand under Regina's shirt and settles her palm on the brunette's waist. The caress feels impossibly wonderful. "Mmm," Regina moans contentedly into Emma's neck.

"Comfortable Mom?" Sam asks with a laugh. Her mothers can be saccharinely sweet, and she has never known them any other way with each other. But she sees them with other people (acting so very differently from when they're with their family), and she's heard stories of their lives before they were together. So seeing them like this – happy and in love even after all that they've lived through – gives Sam hope that she can be happy too.

"Very."

* * *

Henry had fully intended to sneak into bed and have his parents be none the wiser, but the second he opens the door, he hears Emma's snort of laughter coming from the living room, and he knows he's out of luck.

"Henry?" Regina yells to him.

He pokes his head into the living room. "Happy anniversary!" he calls, before ducking out of the doorway.

"Woah, woah, woah, not so fast," Emma says. "You're not going to tell us how your date went?"

Henry's cheeks redden noticeably and Sam can't help herself. "He's getting home at 5 in the morning. I'd say it went pretty well."

"Did you use a condom?" Emma blurts out, and Henry is fairly certain that all his blood rushes to his cheeks.

"Ma!" he screams, covering his ears.

"I'm too young to be a grandmother," Emma continues.

"I'm older than you were when you had me," Henry counters.

"Henry dear," Regina jumps in before Emma can start talking again. "Do you think you could try your hardest not to follow in Ma's footsteps?"

"Ugh," Henry groans. "Not you too."

"We just want you to be safe kid," Emma says. "If you want us to buy condoms for you –"

"Ma!" Henry shrieks again, and much to his annoyance both of his mothers and his sister are laughing at his reaction. "I'm going to bed," he announces, stalking off to his room.

* * *

Regina and Emma are drinking coffee together a few hours later when Henry finally emerges from his bedroom. He walks outside and joins them at the patio table with a cup of coffee in hand.

Emma lifts her head off of Regina's shoulder just long enough to look at Henry's cup judgmentally. "I remember when you wouldn't even take a sip of my frappuccinos, and now you're chugging black coffee."

Henry rolls his eyes.

"So," Regina says, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "When are we going to get to meet Kim?"

"Never."

"I promise to keep Ma under control," Regina says with a kiss to Emma's cheek. Emma makes a show of looking horribly offended but still doesn't manage to control her smile as she lightly smacks Regina's arm.

"You're just as bad Mom. You'll take out my baby albums while Ma interrogates Kim about what kind of birth control she's on."

"Oh thank god," Emma says, seriously relieved at the tacit admission.

"I didn't mean…" Henry trails off, turning red and realizing that he's been caught.

Emma chuckles and turns to Regina, "our little boy's all grown up."

* * *

Emma and Regina are sitting in the backyard that their children have elaborately and painstakingly decorated with lights and flowers. Henry and Sam had served their mothers the dinner that they prepared (with some much welcomed help from Ruby) before wishing them a happy anniversary again and leaving to visit their grandparents for the night.

Regina is stroking her thumb against the back of Emma's hand across the table. "Sometimes it's hard to believe that this is real. I didn't know that I could be happy like this."

"Me either," Emma says, and then, knowing the words that Regina doesn't say, the fears and regret and guilt that are still difficult to give voice to, Emma continues, "You deserve all the happiness in the world."

Regina knows that this is far from true, but to deny herself this happiness would be to deny Emma hers, to deny their children the love that she gives everyday. Regina smiles in thanks, and Emma wonders whether Regina will ever really believe that she deserves love after all that she's done. "Thank you for giving me that happiness, Emma."

"Thank _you_," Emma says, leaning across the table and kissing Regina. Emma knows every inch of this woman. The contours of her lips, the way her thumb feels stroking Emma's cheek, the tenderness of the way she sucks Emma's lip so gently. It's familiar and comfortable, and it is without a doubt the home that Emma spent her life searching for. "I love you," Emma whispers, her forehead leaning against Regina's.

Regina grins in that way that only Emma and their kids ever get to see. This type of grin makes her look like a young girl, so full of life and joy. Sometimes when Emma closes her eyes she still can remember what Regina looked like before, when her eyes were guarded and tinged with pain. Emma remembers how the brunette's expression mirrored so perfectly what Emma herself felt. And how, slowly, almost miraculously, they had opened each other up, how they had begun to mirror each other's smiles.

Regina pulls at their joined hands, and Emma takes the hint and walks around the table to Regina's side. Regina tugs at Emma, and the blonde sits down in her wife's lap. Firm hands wrap around Emma's waist as Regina squeezes her tight. Emma feels so incredibly loved. It still makes her heart flutter.

"I'm proud of us," Regina says, her arms still holding Emma tightly. "Six years." She presses a kiss to Emma's neck. "Six." Another kiss. "Very happy years."

"Yes they have been. Best of my life."

"Mine too. I love you so much Emma," Regina says as she presses another soft kiss to her wife's lips. "Who would have thought?" she muses, thinking back to the night she first met Emma Swan.

"I'm sorry that I'm so irresistible."

Regina chuckles. "You most certainly are."

"Care to show me exactly how irresistible I am?" Emma asks with a goofy wiggle of her eyebrows.

"That I do, love. That I do."


End file.
